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Managing a high volume of applications is one the top global hiring challenges. It’s not uncommon for employers to receive hundreds of applications for a given role, making it difficult to identify the most qualified applicants among them.
Getting too many applicants creates a lot of work for your hiring team — and has the potential to result in a poor candidate experience and worse hiring outcomes. Let’s explore why this is happening, how it impacts your hiring program, and steps you can take to address it.
Why you’re drowning in applications
High application volume isn’t a new problem, but there are an increasing number of factors that may be contributing to it.
For example:
The real cost of having too many applicants
High application volumes can create real problems for your candidates, your hiring team, and your business:
Before you post: Reduce unqualified applicants
One of the biggest issues with getting too many applicants is that many of them are unqualified. In fact, 41% of recruiting leaders identify a lack of qualified candidates as a top bottleneck in their hiring process.
Reducing the number of candidates who aren’t the right fit can enable you to focus on the more skilled applicants.
1
Write specific, detailed job descriptions
A well-written job description can help you attract the right candidates and lead others to invest their time elsewhere.
For example:
2
Add screening questions to your application
Knockout questions can dramatically reduce your applicant pool — in a good way. These are questions that immediately identify candidates who don’t meet your basic requirements.
For an outside sales role, you might ask: “This position requires a valid driver’s license and the ability to travel to client sites within a 50 mile radius. Can you meet this requirement?”
The key is to make knockout questions specific and straightforward. This signals to unqualified candidates that this isn’t the right role for them and helps your team quickly shortlist the right people.
You can also add questions to your application that allow candidates to provide additional context about their experience. For example, Zapier applications have asked leadership candidates to “Please describe the team you’re managing. (How many people, who are your direct reports, what are your teams responsible for, etc.)” Responses could help them quickly build a shortlist of candidates to interview first.
3
Be transparent about your compensation package
Being upfront about your compensation package helps candidates understand if it aligns with their expectations and needs. In fact, it’s often named the top thing candidates prioritize when considering a new job.
Sharing your salary range can help eliminate applications from candidates who wouldn’t ultimately accept an offer, saving you both time.
4
Choose your job boards strategically
Not all job boards are created equal. General job boards give you maximum visibility, which sounds great until you’re drowning in applications. Sometimes a more targeted approach works better.
Consider industry-specific or niche job boards for specialized roles. If you’re hiring a B2B marketer, sites like Exit Five or American Marketing Association might give you better qualified candidates than a more general job board. For creative roles, check out platforms like Dribbble or Behance.
Also think carefully about whether to enable one-click apply features. They’ll increase your application volume, but many of those extra applications could be from people who barely glanced at your job description. Consider requiring candidates fill out a more detailed application for roles where you’re getting too many unqualified applicants — but track your metrics make sure it doesn’t have a negative impact on candidate quallity.
5
Build a talent network for future opportunities
Candidates may find that they aren’t qualified for any current job openings, but still want to express interest in working on your team. Include language in your job posting like “Don’t see a role that matches your experience right now? Join our talent network to hear about future opportunities.”
A talent network lets candidates opt in to hear about future roles that might match their skills. Then you can reach out to relevant people in your network when you post a new job. This gives you a head start on building a qualified candidate pool before you post publicly.
6
Develop employer branding content that helps candidates self-select
Employer branding content helps qualified candidates get excited about applying — and helps unqualified or wrong-fit candidates recognize they shouldn’t.
This might include team member spotlights on your careers site, videos showing what a day in the life looks like at your company, or social media content that gives people a real sense of who you are. Candidates are more likely to self-select appropriately when they have a clear picture of your organization.
Don’t just focus on making your company look amazing — focus on being authentic. You should be honest the challenges your team faces, what kind of person thrives in your environment, and how you define success.
After you post: Managing high application volumes efficiently
Even with all the mitigation strategies in place, you’ll sometimes face high application volumes. Here’s how to handle them without losing your mind or missing great candidates.
1
Use a modern applicant tracking system
The right applicant tracking system is crucial for managing a high applicant volume. Modern systems simplify resume screening so you can quickly identify the most qualified applicants and take action.
For example, JobScore enables you to score candidates based on your own criteria, like location, job titles, degrees, and keywords. Then you can sort candidates by score to move the most promising candidates to the top of the pile for a more in-depth review.
The right ATS will also help you communicate with candidates at scale, track where each person is in your process, and collaborate with hiring managers and team members. This infrastructure becomes essential when you’re dealing with high volumes.
2
Create a structured screening rubric
It’s easy to fall into patterns that aren’t actually helpful when you’re looking at hundreds of applications. Maybe you automatically move candidates with impressive company names on their resumes to the “yes” pile. Maybe you unconsciously favor candidates who went to certain schools. Maybe you’re influenced by how polished someone’s resume looks rather than the actual content.
You’ll have better hiring outcomes if you go into the screening stage with a clear understanding of the role’s required qualifications. Use that to create a structured screening rubric to shortlist candidates for the next stage.
This doesn’t mean you have to be completely rigid — sometimes you’ll find a candidate whose background doesn’t fit your typical pattern but who clearly has relevant experience. But having a rubric helps you make faster, more consistent decisions.
Get the hiring manager involved early, even at the resume screen stage. They don’t need to review every application, but having them review a sample batch or provide input on edge cases helps ensure you’re both aligned on what you’re looking for.
3
Batch process applications
Reviewing applications as they trickle in requires constant context-switching and can lead to inconsistencies in your shortlisting process.
It can be helpful to set aside dedicated blocks of time for application review. For example, you might block out an hour each afternoon or set aside a longer time block after a set number of days. Ultimately, do what works best for your hiring team and timeline.
Also consider when to close applications for a role. You probably don’t need to keep a posting open if you’ve received already 500 applications and have plenty of qualified candidates to interview. Post the job, let it run for a set period (maybe a week or two weeks), then close it and focus on the candidates you have. You can always re-open the role if needed.
4
Update your hiring process
Consider adding a screening stage between the application and the interview for roles that attract extremely high application volumes. This might be a more detailed screening questionnaire, a short skills assessment, or an AI-powered video interview.
These additional stages can help you shortlist your most promising candidates. However, they may also lead to candidate churn — particularly among in-demand candidates who have other opportunities with fewer hurdles.
If you do add screening stages, be strategic about it:
5
Send timely rejection emails
Most candidates (83%) want to know as soon as possible when they’re no longer being considered for a job. A simple, professional rejection email demonstrates that you respect the time a candidate spent to apply.
For example, “Thank you for your interest in the [position name] role at [company name]. After reviewing your application, we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates whose experience more closely matches our needs. We appreciate the time you invested in applying and wish you the best in your job search.”
Use your applicant tracking system to automate this process. Set up templates for different stages of rejection, such as the application stage, after a phone screen, and after the interview so they can be more personalized as candidates move further in your process.
6
Build a talent pipeline from your applicant pool
You can turn your high application volume into an advantage by building a pipeline of skilled candidates for future roles.
Some applicants won’t be the right fit for your current opening, but some of those people might be perfect for a role you’re hiring for in the future. Tag promising applicants in your ATS as potential candidates for other roles. Then you can reach out to relevant candidates from your database when a new position opens up. They’ll appreciate that you remembered them, and you’ll benefit from having a head start on building your talent pipeline.
This is particularly valuable for roles you hire frequently.
When “too many applications” is actually a good problem
Before we wrap up, let’s reframe this challenge slightly. Having too many applicants isn’t always a bad problem to have.
High volume can signal a strong employer brand
Receiving hundreds of applications means people want to work at your company. That’s valuable. It suggests your employer branding is working, your compensation is competitive, or your company has a reputation as a great place to work. Don’t lose sight of that while you’re buried in resume reviews.
More applicants means more opportunity for diversity
A larger applicant pool gives you more options for building diverse teams. Research consistently shows that diverse teams perform better and drive more innovation. You have a better chance of finding candidates from different backgrounds, with different perspectives, who bring varied experiences to your team when you’re choosing from 200 candidates instead of 20.
This only works if you have a fair and structured screening process. Make sure you’re evaluating candidates based on job-relevant criteria, rather than superficial factors. Structured interviews, skills assessments, and clear rubrics help ensure you’re making decisions based on ability, not bias.
You’re gathering valuable data
High application volumes tell you something about your job postings. Which positions attract the most interest? Which sourcing channels drive the most applications? What language or requirements seem to attract the most qualified (or unqualified) candidates?
Pay attention to these patterns and use them to refine future job postings. If you notice that jobs posted on a particular board consistently get more qualified applicants, focus more energy there. If mentioning specific benefits or perks seems to attract better candidates, highlight those more prominently. Your application data is a gold mine of insights about what’s working and what’s not.
Building a candidate pipeline for future roles
This is worth emphasizing again because it’s that important: a robust applicant pool today becomes your talent pipeline for tomorrow. Every application represents someone who was interested enough in your company to take action. With the right systems and processes, you can transform that interest into an ongoing relationship that benefits both parties.
Set up your talent network or community if you haven’t already. Track your pipeline candidates in your ATS and tag them with relevant skills, experience areas, or role types. Send periodic updates about new openings, company news, or content that might be relevant to their career interests. Keep it professional and not too frequent — you’re nurturing relationships, not spamming people.
When you post a new role, reach out to relevant candidates from your pipeline first. “Hi [Name], you applied for our [previous role] position last [timeframe], and while that role went in a different direction, we were impressed by your background. We’re now hiring for [new role], which seems like it might be an even better match for your skills. Would you be interested in learning more?” This personal touch makes candidates feel valued and gives you a head start on building a strong applicant pool.
Final thoughts on having too many applicants
Dealing with too many applicants is frustrating, but it’s not unsolvable. The key is to work both ends of the problem so you’re attracting the right candidates and building systems that help you move efficiently without missing great hires.
Remember that in-demand candidates move fast. The companies that win in competitive hiring markets aren’t necessarily the ones with the best benefits or the highest salaries (though those help). They’re the ones with streamlined processes, clear communication, and the ability to move quickly when they find someone great.
JobScore’s applicant tracking system is designed to simplify and improve your hiring so you can build the team you need to reach organizational goals. Start your free 30-day trial to see it in action.
